The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down three alcohol manufacturing companies in Ota, Ogun State.
This followed alleged violations of the Federal Government’s ban on producing alcoholic beverages in sachets and PET bottles.
A statement from the agency said the sting operation was led by Kunke Ojo, Assistant Director in NAFDAC’s Investigation and Enforcement Directorate.
During the exercise, officials uncovered several breaches across the affected factories.
NAFDAC said its team inspected the first facility last Friday and found sachet alcohol in active production, alongside large quantities of PET bottles.
The factory was initially put on hold. However, during a follow-up visit, officials discovered that the sachet products had been secretly removed from the premises.
“NAFDAC has flagged this as a serious violation, as the products were already under regulatory enforcement,” the agency said.
Seals Broken, Machines Restarted as Crackdown Intensifies
On the second company, whose name was withheld, NAFDAC said its enforcement team caught the firm allegedly continuing the production of sachet alcoholic beverages despite the federal ban.
The agency added that it had inspected the third company in January and had placed 22 production machines on hold. Millions of PET bottles and sachet packaging materials were confiscated for destruction.
During this latest inspection, NAFDAC said its officials discovered that the company had allegedly broken the seals and put the machines back into operation to continue producing sachet alcoholic drinks.
“Millions of additional PET bottles were found on-site, leading to the immediate sealing of the factory,” the statement added.
Addressing the operation, NAFDAC reiterated its zero-tolerance policy for regulatory evasion.
“This enforcement exercise is part of our strict commitment to ensuring full compliance with the nationwide ban and protecting public health by removing prohibited alcoholic products from the market,” the agency said.
The ban on sachet and PET-bottle alcohol is meant to reduce easy access to cheap, unregulated drinks, which health officials link to poisoning, addiction, and other public health risks.
Consumers were advised to remain vigilant and report the illegal sale or production of banned sachet alcoholic beverages to the nearest NAFDAC office.
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Hmm, in all honesty, after I heard about the ban I did not see anybody enforcing it, just this recently I am hearing about this crackdown. In fact I still see people selling these sachet and pet bottle alcohol, there is even the locally made ones from what I presume to be fermented sticks and leaves. I think field agents should be sent out, so as to collect and fine stores still selling such.